And so you disappear
Elize often dreamt of Alvin.
Sometimes, she would just stare into space and think about all that had happened to her those past few years. She had been protected, saved and cared for countless times, and it felt like she would never forget the feeling of those strong arms around her. However, it had been a while since she had last seen him. She knew much too well that he was busy with work and that he was still doing his best to develop trade routes between the fertile Rieze Maxia and the much less agricultural Elympios. She thought it was a little silly, but at the same time she thought his goals were quite noble. It was a shame that he used such shady tactics.
Elize was dreaming of Alvin. In the dream she was quite happy. She was finally an adult, and she was holding him against her chest. It was nice and warm there, and she really wanted to let him know how much she liked him being there. But as she was about to tell him, he vanished, leaving behind nothing more than his scent. A scent that she would never forget. "Where are you going again? Where are you leaving for? You always leave. Always."
"Miss Lutus."
She groaned softly. Someone was calling for her, but she didn't want to leave right now. "You could have left me your coat. I could remember you from it. The prince in the fairytale always leaves something to his promised one so she can remember him forever."
When finally she felt hands shaking her a little, she raised her head and looked around. She realized she was in her classroom. Suddenly she was fully awake. She looked at the front of the class to see her teacher looking at her with a raised eyebrow. She was an older lady with a severe hairdo that contrasted with her sweet demeanor.
"Miss Lutus, you've been falling asleep in class a lot recently. Do you not get enough sleep at home? I heard you're staying at the Sharil mansion."
Elize bit her own lip, feeling a little sheepish. "I'm sorry." The class continued, but Elize's mind was obviously somewhere else. She could hear the teacher talking about mathematics, but she had a hard time focusing. She was tired. And there was a man she wanted to see.
Once the class was over, Elize left the academy with her friends. As usual, they were talking about the usual things that girls their age spoke about. "Have you seen the cute pig plushy? It's such a delightful shade of pink!" Elize was distracted, even if she usually liked to hear her friends talk about pink things. "There's this bracelet made with pink beads, and I hear that when it breaks, it means that the next boy you see is the man you marry!" The three girls laughed. Elize looked at them, confused. She had never really thought of marriage. Maybe it was because she was young, or because she knew she would never get married. One of the girls looked at her. "Elize, what's wrong? You're not saying anything."
The young girl looked at her friend, who was taller than her and was fairly popular around school thanks to her elaborate and original hairstyles. Her hair was currently braided, mixed with pink and white ribbons that complemented their white and blue school uniform. "I'm sorry, Lily. I'm having a hard time focusing today."
Another girl of the group gasped and spoke up. "Is it possible that Elize... Has fallen in love?!" They all squealed excitedly. "Who's the lucky boy, Elize?" "Is it Matteo? It's gotta be Matteo! He's so cute!" "No fair I like Matteo too!" They all burst out laughing.
Elize giggled with the girls but eventually spoke up. "Stop, it's not Matteo. I'm afraid he's a little older than him."
The girls looked at her with wide eyes. "We didn't think you were that sort of girl..." Elize suddenly felt worried. She knew what she had just said might have sounded pretty strange. As she was about to justify herself, Lily spoke up again. "She must be talking about Emil!" The girls squealed excitedly again. Elize laughed with them, but she was feeling uneasy. Emil was sixteen years old. She was definitely not talking about him.
Elize went back home. She took off her shoes and neatly placed them away. She took off her jacket and left it on her coat hanger. She put her bag next to the door and then she dropped on her bed, exhausted. She wondered why she was tired like this. She sighed softly and looked at the calendar hanging next to her mirror. It was her birthday in a few days, and since she was turning fourteen, there was a reception in her honor. It was a little silly since she didn't really know the guests. They were mostly people that Driselle knew. There would be pretty much all of Elize's friends and she hoped to get her former companions to come. She knew Jude might be glad to come, but Milla was difficult to get a hold of. Rowen was very busy with his responsibilities in the Rieze Maxian government, and Leia would probably be happy to cover an event in which there would be a lot of people from the nobility. Maybe even his majesty Gaius would show up. As for Alvin... Well, she could always hope, but she was pretty certain this was not his type of thing. On one hand, he liked to be with a lot of people, but at the same time he valued his time alone. After all, it hurt even more to feel alone surrounded by all sorts of people than being completely alone. And Alvin had spend most of his life feeling alone. Elize didn't know what to do. She groaned and started kicking her legs mindlessly. Maybe he'd come if she spent time with him. After all, he probably considered her at least like a friend, and so they could spend time together. Or maybe he would take this opportunity to mingle and get in the good graces of a nice woman from the upper class...
This thought made Elize frown. Maybe Alvin shouldn't come after all. It would hurt to see him leave with one of those elegant women who had lots of money and who could offer him what he sought. Alvin was everything but perfect; he was a liar and he manipulated, tricked and played with people. She didn't know much about sexuality, but she knew he was the type of man to sleep around a lot. He lied, manipulated, tricked and played with women that crossed his path, as long as they were mature enough. Maybe the young girl should have been thankful that she was not old enough to be hurt like this by the smooth talking rogue. She didn't know much about sexuality and so she was under the impression that maybe she could be more for him.
"Oh what am I thinking?" She sat up and shook her head, trying to pull herself together. She wanted him to come, and yet she didn't want him there. She mindlessly reached for her cellphone and started writing him a text. She had never written one, and he had never written to her, except to ask if she was alright when he heard distressing news from Sharilton. She never replied to those texts, bothered that he seemed to believe that she wasn't even worth a call. Besides, she knew there was a little check mark that appeared next to his messages when she read them. It was enough for him to know that she was just fine.
hi Alvin long time no see, it's my birthday next week and I was wondering if you were free to come
Elize looked at the words she had just written and deleted them. It bothered her when he did not call, so maybe she should call him. She took a deep breath and dialed his number, which she knew by heart even if she had never called. She felt inexplicably nervous. She listened to the dial tone, her mind already racing. Maybe he didn't know how to answer his phone and only knew how to send texts? This made her smile a little. Alvin was silly enough for this.
"Hello?"
Elize felt her heart jump in her chest. Suddenly she realized her throat was very dry. "Hello Alvin, it's Elize!" Her voice had probably sounded much more high-pitched than she wanted it to be, and she also sounded much more excited. She probably sounded like an annoying little girl. Thankfully, she heard the older male chuckle at the other end of the line.
"Hey, princess, I haven't heard from you in a while." His voice was still as smooth as she remembered, slow and low. She smiled happily, glad that he seemed to be in a good mood. He had even used his usual nickname for her.
"I know... Alvin, where are you?" There was a pause. She could hear voices around him, and so she assumed he was in a public space.
"Alvin, where are you?"
Alvin looked up at the sign of the city he was in. It read 'Sharilton'. He remained quiet for a moment, before he finally answered, shutting his eyes for a moment. "I'm home. I'm in Trigleph." He was on the commercial street, mindlessly looking at the wares. There were all sorts of things, and he silently pointed to a plush toy, looking questioningly at the salesman. The man held out a couple fingers. Alvin frowned a little, but he was distracted when he heard Elize again.
"Oh..." she simply said. He pulled away from the salesman. "Is something wrong?" he asked, rather concerned.
"Well... It's my birthday in a few days, and I wanted you to come to the reception."
Alvin smiled, even if he knew she couldn't see him. He could imagine her embarrassed expression and blush. She was a shy little girl, even if she had become much more confident in the last few months. "Oh really? I completely forgot." He could never forget. Elize had been raised in a sort of laboratory, and so she didn't remember her real birthday. For her new birthday, she had picked the day when she had joined Alvin, Jude and Milla on their quest. It was fairly easy to remember. Suddenly feeling a little uneasy, Alvin stopped and discretely looked around, soon realizing he was being watched by some men. He pretended like he had not seen them and continued to look at the wares, listening to what the young girl had to say.
"Right... well, if you're not too busy... I was hoping that you would come and see me. It's been a while and..." He could feel Elize hesitating. He stuck the cell phone between his shoulder and ear, picking up some jewelry to observe its quality. "… And I wanted to see you."
He looked at the men behind the blue bracelet he was looking at. He didn't like the way they stared at him. He put the bracelet back down and went to sit on a nearby bench. "I don't know if it's a good idea" he carefully said. For once he was perfectly sincere. Alvin tended to bring all sorts of problems with him, and he was pretty sure that those men didn't want to invite him for a friendly game.
"But Alvin... Jude and Leia will be there and I'm sure you haven't seen them in a while too. I'll be there too."
Alvin shut his eyes tight, sighing softly enough so she couldn't hear. He was at a loss. On one hand, he didn't want to ignore the pleas of a little girl who was making her first shy steps into adulthood. On the other hand, he didn't want to risk endangering anyone. "Alright. I will see what I can do." He opened his eyes again and lowered his head. He reached in the pockets of his coat and took out a little box crudely wrapped in a pink and white paper.
"Really? Thank you Alvin!" she exclaimed, suddenly sounding much more happy.
Alvin smiled contentedly, glad that she seemed to be feeling better already. "No no, thank you for inviting me. Goodbye, princess." He hung up the phone, contemplating the little box. He had thought of handing it to Driselle while Elize would be at school, but he now was under the impression that she would prefer it handed directly to her. Thankfully, he still had some time to think about it. He could also find out who these men were and what they wanted with him. He looked discretely at them, seeing that they were walking away. "Man, I sure hope you guys don't want to kill me..." he muttered to himself.
Elize was getting excited for her birthday. It wasn't every day, after all, that a young girl became a teenager. It was very nice because for the first time, there would be all sorts of people, she would get plenty of gifts, and she would celebrate with a lot of friends, like a lot of regular young girls. She had never celebrated her birthday since she simply never told anyone when it was. But Driselle had finally asked, and so the young girl had picked a significant day. She still wished she knew when her real birthday was, but the memories of her family were just too fuzzy. She didn't even remember celebrating with her parents. The party was the day just before the week end, and so she was at school, still finding it difficult to focus on her Rieze Maxian History class. She didn't really care about the day of whatever treaty and the year of the great famine, she just wanted to put on her dress, get a nice hairdo and then dance.
Elize did not really know how to dance. However, she had a feeling Alvin knew how. Sneaky people like him probably learnt such skills just to go unseen among the upper class. She sighed a little and looked out the nearest window. She knew she would be asking too much if she hoped for a dance with him. Men like Alvin had no problem finding a dance partner that matched their height. He was very, very tall, and since she was small they probably would feel very silly. Ah, if only she was a little older and taller. Soon enough she found herself daydreaming about it all; a crescent moon, a cold night, she's shivering and so he gallantly wraps his coat around her, she comes closer and, as natural as day, they kiss, sweetly, gently, innocently. She felt her cheeks burn at the simple thought. She shook her head a little and tried to focus again on what the teacher was saying. There was no point in having such dreams right now. After all, she was still much too young for him and he saw her as nothing more than a child. She sighed and started taking notes again. She wondered now if she would pass her next test. History was hard.
When finally the class was over, she hurried home and realized that she was feeling very nervous. She didn't want to look ridiculous and she feared she would make a fool of herself. She decided to dress and arrange her hair with simplicity. Driselle had bought a lovely short violet dress that was reminiscent of the one she wore on her big adventure. It had similar gold accents, but at the same time it looked nothing like it. It was probably a little more elegant. With it she would wear cute shoes of an even darker shade, and finally she would pull her hair up in a bun held by a shiny ribbon. She had never felt this fancy or looked this sophisticated. However, she didn't feel too out of place, and so it was fine. She had gotten used to quality clothing and so she didn't feel ridiculous or anything.
After a while, Driselle knocked at the door and came in, wearing a elegant sky blue dress. "Elize you look so adorable! Are you ready to go?" The young woman was busy since she was running the estate and a good part of the city of Sharilton, but she always reported some duties in order to spend time with Elize and organize things for her. She had taken the time to prepare the birthday, after all.
"I'm ready," Elize said, "I'm just a little nervous." The young girl sheepishly looked down. She really hoped that she would be able to hang out with all the people she knew. Maybe Jude and Leia would spend time with her, as well as her school friends.
Driselle spoke up again. "You don't have to be nervous. It's your birthday, just do what you want to do. You will get to meet all sorts of people and maybe you will make some new friends. This would be great, right?" The woman smiled reassuringly and then gestured for Elize to come out of the room. "Besides, I have a good feeling about tonight!"
Elize followed Driselle to a nearby ball room where most rich people liked spending their birthdays or celebrated important things, like new titles of nobility. It was a rather large building surrounded by really tall windows. There were balconies on each side of it where people usually went when it was too warm or when they wanted to spend some nice, quiet time. Inside, it looked very nice; the walls were a nice, soft shade of white, and Elize noticed windows in the ceiling through which she could see the colors of dusk. She then realized that there were quite a lot of people in the room. She stopped dead in her tracks and looked around, trying to find a familiar face. Driselle was already greeting people she knew, and so Elize sort of followed her for a moment, until finally she spotted her friends.
The girls were playing the 'I spy' game. Elize came closer to them, smiling. "I spy with my little eye... a very pretty girl!" Lily said, looking in Elize's direction.
The birthday girl blinked and looked behind herself, wondering if she was talking about the woman wearing a blue dress and who was sipping on white wine, pretending like she was interested in what her husband was saying. She looked back at Lily, who laughed. "I'm talking about you, silly. Happy Birthday Elize!" "Yes, happy birthday!" Elize's friends were not all from the high society, and so they weren't all wearing pretty and expensive dresses. However they all seemed to be having fun. Elize thanked them for their kind wishes. Lily spoke again. "Alright Elize, you're the birthday girl. What do you spy?"
Elize blinked and looked around the room. "I spy with my little eye..." She stopped when she recognized a familiar figure at a certain distance. The young man had an engaging smile. He seemed a little out of place in his casual clothes. "… A scientist!" The girls started looking around. Elize giggled at their attempt to spot him and left them to go and talk to him. "Jude?"
Jude had arrived earlier. He was pretty busy with work, but he had made himself free pretty much at the last minute to come and wish Elize a happy birthday. As he was looking out the window at a fountain that clearly used the power of Undine, he heard Elize speaking to him. He smiled and looked at her. "Hello Elize!" He noticed that Elize looked pretty happy. He spoke again. "I haven't seen you earlier, where were you?"
"I was getting ready, I just arrived." She looked around a little and then tilted her head. "Did you come alone?"
Jude shook his head, looking pretty hopeless. "I came with Leia. I'm trying to keep her from harassing your guests but it's not easy... It seems like she decided she can't take a break from her job." Leia was a reporter and anything could become breaking news. It was a little annoying to Jude. After all, what sort of news was she trying to get at Elize's birthday?
"I see... well I'm happy you're both here!" Elize paused, knowing that what she was about to ask was a rather sensitive topic. "Have you seen Milla...?"
Jude lowered his head and shook it slightly. "No. She is as elusive as ever." Elize wanted to say something like an apology or any form of sympathy, but before she could Leia finally arrived.
Unlike Jude, she had remembered to dress properly and had chosen a short yellow dress with a delicate orange flower pattern. "I can't believe he won't talk to me about the rising tension between Rieze Maxia and Elympios... I mean surely he knows, he's in the milita-" She stopped when she saw Elize and smiled wide. "Elize! Happy birthday! I was looking for you."
Jude seemed like he had suddenly remembered something. "Right, I forgot to wish you a happy birthday. Happy birthday Elize!"
The young girl laughed and then looked at Leia. "Why were you looking for me?"
"Well... I wanted to write something about what Sharilton plans to do if a war breaks out but I think asking Driselle directly might be too intrusive..."
Elize seemed quite confused. "What? I don't know anything about that..."
Jude sighed and took Leia's hand. "Come on, you like dancing so let's dance." He pulled her to the dance floor.
Leia laughed triumphantly. "You bet, I can kick your butt and dancing any time!"
Elize heard him say that Leia needed to stop and relax a little. The young girl smiled and shook her head, happy to see that at least Leia had not changed. She still had the same explosive energy.
Elize sighed a little, realizing that she had not seen Alvin yet. Maybe he had not made it... She sighed softly and started looking around, stopping to greet people from time to time, even those she didn't know and who wished her a happy birthday.
She then saw him.
Elize stopped dead in her tracks. She could not mistake his hairstyle, his height, his strong build and even the way he stood. He was standing in front of a table, and Elize assumed he was eating something. She felt her heart jump in her chest once more. She recognized the clothes he always used to wear, which were a white shirt and some brown pants. It wasn't all that fancy, but she knew the black and golden scarf around his neck was unique and expensive. She slowly sneaked up to him and, without a warning, she gently poked him in the sides. She felt him squirm a little under her fingers. He hastily spun around, and the young girl saw that he was holding a glass of wine as well as a sandwich. So Alvin was ticklish... Elize found that sort of adorable.
As soon as he recognized her, his rather gloomy expression lightened up. "Elize!" He put his glass down as well as the sandwich before he bent down a little to hug her tight. The young girl shut her eyes, letting her hands grasp the fabric of his shirt. "Happy birthday, princess."
She smiled wide and held him tighter for a moment, until she finally let go. A man like Alvin probably never stopped first when hugging someone of the opposite sex.
"You look taller" he commented before he looked at her feet, trying to see if she was wearing high heels.
Elize tilted her head and replied; "And you cut your hair. And you shaved."
He laughed and touched his own chin. "Well, you said my hair looked stupid, that my cologne stinks and that you didn't like my manly beard." He then frowned a little, seeing Elize's puzzled expression. "Wait, you don't like it like that either?"
She blinked a little and shook her head, once again feeling her cheeks warm up a little. "No it's not that... You look younger like that."
"You want me to look older?"
"I never said younger is bad!" She was still sort of confused. It sounded like he had cut his hair and trimmed his beard to please her. What did this mean? Maybe she was looking too much into this. He probably found that his hair was more manageable this way. "Why are you dressed like this?" she suddenly asked. After all, in his role as businessman, he usually wore some dark suit.
"I wanted to look Rieze Maxian. With the tensions and all, it's better this way..."
Elize tilted her head. "Where's your coat?" Elize loved this coat. It looked nice and warm, and she knew Alvin loved it too for some sentimental reason. Alvin suddenly looked uneasy before he smiled sheepishly, avoiding her questioning gaze.
"Well the guy at the entrance forced me to take it off. He also tried to take my scarf away but I defended it with my fists."
Elize gasped and opened wide eyes. "You got into a fight!?"
Alvin looked at his feet. "Uh... I mostly glared at him... I then threatened to break his nose if he didn't stop pawing at my scarf..." He cleared his throat.
Elize looked at him and sighed softly. He was completely hopeless.
And yet she cared deeply for this man.
She had heard that love was a mysterious and irrational thing. Elize lowered her head a little. Why did it have to be that man, who was twice her age? Why did it have to be a selfish, unscrupulous liar?
She knew. Yes, Alvin was a terrible person, but at the same time he was attentive, patient, respectful to those that mattered and always sweet to her. He had always held her when she had been scared. He always defended her when she was in harm's way. He always made sure she was fine after difficult battles. Maybe he was strong physically, but his mind was a fragile, broken thing. He was weak and vulnerable, and yet he had never faltered when Elize's well being was on the line. He always protected her. Always.
"Jude can vouch for me."
Elize blinked and looked at Alvin again. "What...?"
The man had noticed that Elize seemed disappointed in him, and so he was trying to justify himself. "The guy was being a … uh, well, something I can't say to a little girl. And Jude intervened."
Elize replied almost automatically. "I'm not a little girl."
Alvin chuckled and leaned against the table, taking his glass of wine again. "You're not an adult yet... kid." His other nickname for her. Then again, aside from Rowen, everyone was a kid according to Alvin.
Elize watched him sip his glass of wine and decided to give up. It was a mystery how he managed to get so many girls to fall for him when Elize mostly thought he should stop talking. As she was about to tell him that she wanted to go back to her friends, Alvin suddenly stood straight again. "Oh, I almost forgot!"
He took a small gift from his pocket. "It's for you. I uh..." She could tell he was nervous by the way he ran his fingers back in his own hair. "I saw the pile of gifts on the table there..." He pointed in the direction where he knew all the beautiful and expensive presents were. "I wanted to give it to you directly because I forgot to sign my name on it and it's so small it might get lost." He chuckled and handed her the box.
Elize smiled again and took it. "Alvin, thank you so much...!" She didn't know what it was, but she already knew that it would be much more special than anything from anyone else. She looked around to make sure no one was looking and carefully unwrapped it. Her fingers were shaking. She took a deep breath and opened the delicate blue box. She was surprised to see a silver bracelet with a few pink glass beads. "It's... it's beautiful..."
Alvin smiled and took it from the box. "They're pretty popular in Trigleph." He took Elize's left hand and carefully put it on her. "The girls wear them and it's said that when it breaks, the man she's with is the man that will love her forever."
Elize had been looking at the dark pink beads, but when she heard the last part, she stared in his sweet, dark eyes. She was ready for the bracelet to break right now. The simple realization made her cheeks burn up once more. Realizing he was being stared at, Alvin looked back at her and smiled a little, but warmly. However, he felt a little disappointed because her expression wasn't all that delighted. She was simply staring at him with burning cheeks. He cleared his throat and gestured in a random direction, muttering something about going to talk to someone. He felt clearly uneasy, thinking that this gift had been very inappropriate. But before he could walk away, he heard a timid voice calling to him.
"Wait, Alvin..."
He stopped and looked at Elize. "Yes, princess?" He noticed that she was mindlessly playing with the pink beads.
"Did you... come with someone?"
Alvin sure was not expecting a question like this. He smiled again. "No, I only brought old single me."
"I didn't come with anyone either, so..."
She went very quiet, and once again he felt like he was in front of the twelve year old girl they had rescued from a horrible life in Hamil. Pity her plushie wasn't there to tell him what she was thinking. Alvin remained there, getting slightly impatient. "...So...?" he asked, hoping to encourage her to finish her sentence. Finally she looked straight in his eyes.
"So you know... I love this song..." she smiled a little and lowered her head, hoping he would get the hint.
Alvin instantly understood what she was trying to say, and so he chuckled. He recognized it was a waltz, which was a fairly simple set of steps. "You are right." He did a little bow and held out a hand. "Shall we dance, princess?" Since his head was lowered, he couldn't see her very wide smile, and it was better this way. She did her best to conceal her joy as she slid a hand in his. He took a regular posture and brought Elize's other hand to his shoulder before he put his own on her waist. He then led her on the dance floor.
Elize was so shy and so focused that she didn't even look in his eyes. She was staring at her own feed, trying not to step on his feet or to get stepped on. She could tell her partner was going through the motions, and so it was possible she might get hurt. Alvin was probably used to dancing with women who had experience in the domain. Since she was getting the hang of it, she stopped looking at her feet and looked up at Alvin's expression. He had a frozen smile plastered on his face, and she could tell he was doing his best to act natural. Something was probably very wrong; he usually was much better a lying about his own feelings. Had he seen a girl he had slept with before? He was staring at something, and Elize was ready to bet that it was probably a beautiful woman. If only she had been older and taller, she could have danced closer to him. She decided to try and distract him. "You're very good at this, Alvin."
Alvin was not staring at a woman. He knew Elize was a poor dancer, and so he was focusing on not running into other couples or stepping on her feet. He was looking intently at her, and she herself was staring at their feet. She probably didn't realize it, but she was squeezing him out of nervousness, almost painfully. He actually felt sort of proud to be the first man to show her how to do the waltz. Usually the first dance was a father/daughter thing, and in the upper circles young ladies often had an older teacher. It felt inexplicably nice to fill this role for her, even if he was not a teacher nor anyone from her family. He had no business dancing the waltz with Elize, who was now a respectable young lady. His place was with the older women, who would actually press themselves against his chest. There was so much space between his and Elize's body that it was almost awkward. Then again, it would have been worse if she had tried since she was pretty small. As he was about to tell her that she was doing fine and that she could relax a little, he saw someone in the doorway staring in their direction. He recognized one of the men from earlier. The man was a rather young Rieze Maxian. He was looking at Elize and Alvin felt really bothered by the way he was looking at her. But then, the man saw that Alvin was looking, and so he made a discreet gesture towards the exit, probably expecting to be followed. Alvin frowned a little, which probably gave him a weird expression since he was smiling like dancers usually do.
"You're very good at this, Alvin."
He blinked and looked down at Elize, who was looking at him questioningly. He chuckled. "Well, Elize, ladies like a man who knows how to use his body."
The teen knew enough about sex to know exactly what he was talking about. "So you think I'm adult enough to hear you talk about what you do in bed with women? I don't understand you."
Alvin looked quite surprised. "Hey, I'm not talking about that! Women really do like a man who knows how to dance."
Elize scowled, pursing her lips. "Do you dance with all the women you meet?"
"If I'm supposed to, of course I do."
Elize opened really wide eyes. So Alvin really had sex with a bunch of women, pretty much all the time. This was terrible. Truthfully it hurt, since she couldn't imagine herself with any other man. She stepped on his foot as hard as possible, which made him jump and let go of her.
"Elize, you have to be more careful than that." He sighed and took her hand again, resuming the dance.
Elize was upset and she knew her way to show it had been childish. "Maybe you should find another dance partner" she muttered.
Alvin wondered why she sounded so bitter. He had told the truth, he only danced with women at places where he was expected to dance. What a silly question. He didn't know she was actually talking about sex. Then again, if he had known, his answer wouldn't have been that different. "I don't get why you're upset like this. It's your birthday, you're supposed to be happy. Maybe you should find another dance partner, like that kid that's been staring at you for a while."
Elize looked around, curious to see who he was talking about. She recognized Matteo standing at a safe distance, nervously glancing in their direction. He was her age, with blond hair and blue eyes. He was very popular with the girls since he was from a good family and because of how good he looked.
Alvin smiled, very amused, and finally let go of Elize when the music stopped. "Your boyfriend looks pretty jealous." He came closer to speak to her ear. "But if you want my opinion, you shouldn't date a boy who's scared of me."
Elize blushed and looked back at Alvin. "He's not my boyfriend!" She saw that Alvin didn't believe her at all from the way he laughed.
"Whatever you say, princess. Your romantic life doesn't concern me."
"Yes it does!"
There was an uncomfortable silence. Realizing what she had just said, Elize looked away, tempted to try and hide somewhere. Alvin just looked at her, feeling more and more confused. Apparently, Elize was already at that age where women became a mystery to men. Finally he ran his hand through his hair again, giving it up for now. "I have an errand to run."
The young girl instantly looked at him again. "Where are you going?"
Alvin smiled reassuringly. "There's someone I need to talk to, so... I guess it will be a nice little walk in the forest. I will be back real soon, princess." He gently pat her head, like he always did. She leaned a little in the mocking yet affectionate gesture, wishing he could simply caress her hair instead. When he pulled his hand away, he had a warm, confident smile. She watched as he spun around, went to the door, grabbed his coat and left. She felt like something very heavy was dragging her to the floor.
Once again you disappear, without even a word.
Not this time. She was not going to let him get away that easily. She took a deep breath and started walking towards the door as well. However, she stopped when she felt someone tapping her shoulder. She looked back and saw that it was Matteo. "Hey, Elize... I wanted to wish you a happy birthday, and I was wondering if you wanted to dance with me?"
She pulled away from him. "Sorry, I'm busy right now." She smiled shyly and ran off. She thought she heard Lily call her crazy for rejecting Matteo. It was easy to reject a boy when she liked another one.
When she stepped outside, she was surprised by how cold it suddenly was. She shivered and crossed her arms, before she looked around. She knew where the forest was, and so she had to hurry over to it. However, it was very possible for Alvin's business to be dangerous.
She ran back to the Sharil estate and hurried to her room. There, she rummaged around her drawers for her keys. She soon found them hidden under a thin book. She looked at them, sighed softly and went to the basement. It was a dark but clean and dry place. She looked at a box, hesitating. Alvin needed help, but she really wished she could do without the help of her booster. Finally she unlocked the box and opened it. The black and purple toy was looking lifelessly at her. "Hi, Teepo. Long time no see."
It took a few seconds for the plushie to recognize the young girl, but soon enough it reacted and came out of the box. "Elize, I missed you so!"
She giggled and hugged him. "I missed you too." She suddenly looked very serious. "We have no time for this. Alvin's in trouble."
"What? Did little friend trick someone again?"
Elize left the basement, the toy floating behind her. "I'm not sure..." She took off her delicate shoes and put on her comfortable and much warmer boots. "I just know he went to the forest."
"He's probably close to the lake."
Elize hurried outside again and went towards the forest. A lake was indeed the best place where to dump a body.
She ran, but she soon realized that she was exhausted. Even Teepo looked slower than usual and he was mostly quiet, as if they were not perfectly synced. She stopped in her tracks, panting a little. Had Alvin lied to her again? Maybe he wasn't in the forest at all and had told her this to send her on the wrong path. She then suddenly realized something. "What if he's already... dead?" She shuddered at the thought and then chased it away. She sighed and continued on her path. When she arrived close to the lake, she heard a strong voice laughing. It sounded like Alvin. She hurried again, quietly, and stopped nearby. She hid behind some bushes and peeked to see what was going on. Alvin was standing close to the lake with four men. Elize blinked and drew a little closer, as if it would help her hear better, and she noticed that the one in front of Alvin held a jagged sword.
"So let me get this straight" Alvin said. He pointed the men one after another. "I killed your dad; your sister was poisoned at Xian Du; and you two hate Elympians." He shrugged, seemingly not bothered at all. He even had a little smile. "Fair enough. What now?"
The man with the sword spoke up, loudly. He seemed like he was poorly trying to hide the fact that he was terrified. "You're going to die. You're going to die in excruciating pain. And then we will get our money."
Alvin chuckled, making a dismissive gesture. "Right, right, someone wants me dead. What's new?And what are you going to do? You can't even hold a sword properly." The man with the sword looked at his weapon. He was holding it so tight that his fingers were white.
Another man spoke. This one seemed much more calm. "If you don't wipe that stupid grin off your face, I'll give you a good reason to worry."
Alvin scoffed, crossing his arms. "Oh really? And what's that?"
The other man took a deep breath. "We know there's a little lady you want to protect above all else."
There was a silence. Alvin's smile melted and completely disappeared as his hands slowly fell to his sides. Elize tilted her head slightly, wondering who they were talking about. So he really had a girlfriend. She felt a little disappointed. Then again, it was only natural, he probably had tons of girlfriends before.
"You wouldn't dare" Alvin said in a quiet voice.
The men took out weapons. Two of them were holding swords and another one had a knife. The last one took out a gun. "Try us, Alvin."
Alvin took a step back and smiled. "You're forgetting something. I never come unarmed."
Elize watched as Alvin pulled out his broadsword and pistol. That's when she noticed something glistening under the pale crescent moon, behind Alvin. She squinted and realized it was a man taking aim with a gun from the top of a tall tree. "No...!" She ran out of her hideout. "Alvin, look out!"
Alvin froze and looked at her. "Elize...? What are you-" A bullet whizzed past his head, and so he jumped away, turning around. Before he could shoot, Elize had already sent Teepo to distract the shooter. The plushie harshly pushed the man, who lost his balance and fell down the tree in a loud thud.
"What the heck is that?!" yelled one of the other men, probably talking about the toy. The other one with the gun turned his attention to Elize. He took aim and Elize froze, but when the first shot rang, Elize felt familiar hands grabbing her. She felt herself being carried behind a large tree. She opened wide eyes and looked up at Alvin, who was holding her tight against his chest, attentive to the salvo of bullets. Every weapon needed to be recharged, he just needed to know when. It was also possible they were concealing guns. The young girl felt very ashamed. She had almost gotten herself and Alvin killed. "A-Alvin, I'm so sorry, I-I didn't know, I was worried, and-"
"Shh, it's okay, princess..." he smiled reassuringly down at her. "It's like the good old times again, don't you think?"
Elize was barely surprised by how calm he seemed. He was the type of man who had been raised in torment and violence. "I guess you're right..." She took a deep breath, taking in his smell, which she thought was reassuring. After a few seconds, he let go of her and gestured for her to stay exactly where she was.
One of the men spoke up. "You can't stay behind that tree forever, Alvin! Come out and maybe we will spare that sweet little thing of yours..." Elize opened wide eyes. Were they talking about her? She looked up at Alvin, and realized he was hesitating. He was staring back in her eyes. This wasn't a game anymore. He simply couldn't risk Elize's life when this had nothing to do with her. Elize looked even more surprised. They were indeed talking about her. Alvin really did care for her. Even if it was a dire situation, she felt so happy. She even managed a smile. However, before she could do or say anything, Alvin ran out from behind the tree and went for the kill.
The man with the sword who had seemed very scared was gone, probably much too afraid to stay and fight, but the confident one was much more competent. He was defending himself dearly, resisting Alvin's assault. Elize looked at Teepo, who was still pretty quiet, merely floating close to her. She then looked at Alvin and saw that things were not going all that well. The man with the gun was trying to aim for Alvin without hurting his partner, and Elize knew she had to hurry since the older man was pretty slow. She took a deep breath and focused on her own powers. She summoned her own fallen angel, who appeared behind the man with the sword and cut his head off with its scythe. Alvin looked back at her with a wide smile, not needing to compliment her or anything. She knew she had done great, but when it would be over she'd deserve a nice pat on the head. However, as soon as the creature disappeared, Elize felt a sharp, intense pain in her head. "Ah!" she fell to her knees, panting.
Alvin looked at her worriedly. "Elize, what's wrong?" He took a step towards her, but then he saw that the gunman was aiming at her, knowing that she had been the one to slay his partner. "Elize!" The young girl was unable to move, crippled with pain, and so Alvin ran to her, pushed her down and out of the way and shielded her with his own body. A shot was fired right next to him, but none followed. Alvin looked up, aimed for the man's head and opened fire.
Elize was still in pain, but it was now much more dull. She was also distracted by the fact that the man she loved was all over her, on all fours. She looked at him with really wide eyes, barely breathing, as if the slightest move would scare him and make him disappear again. She remained as still as possible and just watched Alvin, panting above her. She loved the way his muscular chest moved and how he kept his eyes shut. It lasted only a few seconds; soon enough he looked back at her. "Elize, does it still hurt?"
The teenager slowly shook her head.
Alvin smiled. "Good. Thank you, Elize, you did well." He knelt and made a gesture to stand. Elize shut her eyes, glad that it was all over. She sighed in relief, glad that she had helped this man who had protected her so many times.
That's when she felt something painful at the level of her left wrist. She gasped softly in pain and looked at her hand, wondering what was wrong. She slowly let the horror sink in.
A jagged blade covered in fresh blood had cut her wrist. Elize slowly rose her gaze to where the sword had cut right through Alvin's side. She looked in horror at the wound, her breath going faster and faster until she saw Alvin's expression of intense pain. She felt her own body stiffen, as if she had been the one to die. "Ah... Ah... A-Al..." She found she was unable to even talk.
Alvin opened one eye and looked at her. "A-are you alright, princess...?" He looked down at her wounded wrist, before he looked back in her eyes, forcing himself to smile reassuringly. "You're alright, it's just a... flesh wound... I'm glad..."
Elize felt warm tears flowing down her face, even if all she felt was unmitigated horror. She didn't even see the shape looming above Alvin's body, and only realized it was the scared man when he harshly pulled the blade out of his victim's body. She then watched as the man she so dearly loved fell on his side.
She screamed.
She would never be alright again.
Without thinking, she stood and grabbed the gun that Alvin had dropped. How could that horrible man take away Alvin? How could he make him disappear forever? She suddenly was blind with anger. Alvin was still conscious, but barely. He made a weak, vague move in Elize's direction, wanting to tell her not to do this. He couldn't stand to see his beloved lamb taste blood. He sighed and bit his lips, his fingers closing on absolutely nothing. His vision was getting blurry, but he still could see enough to notice something close to him glistening under the pale moonlight. He understood it was Elize's new bracelet. He grabbed it and gently squeezed it, slipping away. If only Elize had stayed at the party... If only she had not seen this...
"I did it... I-I killed him..." said the man with the jagged sword. "I killed him and I won't have to share the loot with the others...! Hehehehe... Hahahahaha! This is amazing! This is-"
"This is nothing at all" declared Elize as she pressed the gun in the middle of his back. "All you deserve for killing the man I love is lead in the heart." She pulled the trigger only once. When he stopped moving, she dropped the weapon and looked back at Alvin. She walked over to him and fell to her knees. She started crying, but she soon realized it wasn't too late. She gently caressed his warm cheek, and it made him move a little. "It's not too late... I can still bring you back." She wiped her tears away and smiled. She looked at Teepo, who was simply staying in his corner. "Just one last time, Teepo..." She took a deep breath and focused all her energy to healing Alvin's wound. She knew something was very wrong when she felt a horrible pain in her own side. She bit her lip, doing her best not to scream in pain at the effort. Her head was killing her and the more Alvin's wound closed, the more she felt her sides opening up. When finally she was done mending the man's wound, she grabbed her own sides, realizing her dress was wet with her own blood.
Alvin suddenly gasped and sat up. He looked around and saw Elize. "Thank you..." He knew only she could have done that. Elize looked at him and managed a smile, before she fell forward. Alvin was quick to catch her. "What's wrong, princess?" That's when he saw the dark spot on her dress. "Oh no, oh no...! What happened?!" Without thinking, he took off his scarf and pressed it against the wound.
Elize looked at him, smiling a little. "Alvin... it's all over... M-my booster-"
He knew what she was trying to say. Elize still was not old enough for the healing artes she could use, and so she needed a booster. However, boosters slowly but surely killed people. "Oh, Elize... why...?"
Elize laughed softly. "Because I can't imagine living in a world without you..."
Alvin was doing his best not to show that he was scared of losing her. Soon enough he smiled reassuringly. "I-I bet Jude can heal you..." Noticing she was shivering, he took off his coat and wrapped her in it, trying to reassure her and keep her warm. She sighed softly and held the coat as tight as she could around herself. Alvin then picked her up. "We just have to hurry... Every thing will be just fine, you're going to get better-"
"Stop it, Alvin. It's all over..."
Alvin groaned and started walking fast. He had just recovered from his own wound, and so he wasn't all that energetic.
"Stop it I said... I need to talk to you..."
"No, Elize, you'll talk to me later!"
"I said stop!"
He sighed and looked at her, before he slowly fell to his knees, holding Elize against him. The young girl could tell he was angry at his own powerlessness. She knew he would hate himself forever after this night.
"Alvin, listen to me..." She reached up and touched his cheek. He instantly looked at her, and she could tell he was trying not to shed tears. "There's only one thing I want..."
"Oh, anything, Elize, anything you want, just tell me..." He took her hand and gently squeezed it.
She felt her throat tighten as new tears streamed down her cheeks. "Kiss me, please..."
She watched as Alvin opened really wide eyes. He then lowered his head, not daring to look her in the eye. "Y-you know I can't-"
"I've never been kissed before, and I want my first and last kiss to come from you... I-I love you..."
Alvin looked at her with a surprised expression. He then forced himself to smile sweetly for her. "Don't say that, you will have plenty of time to fall in love, to kiss, to hope, to care, and then to fall out of love..."
Elize giggled. "I can't believe you would lie to a dying little girl."
Alvin lowered his head again, clearly feeling guilty. Elize took a deep breath. "Please... Please, Alvin..."
Alvin swallowed hard and looked away, conflicted. Kissing little girls was wrong, but letting this child die without knowing anything about love felt even worse. How could he let this child die without doing this simple thing for her? He sighed and took a shaky breath. "Alright, princess..." He shut his eyes tight and slowly lowered himself.
Elize shut her eyes as well, but not only because she felt herself slipping away; she wanted to focus entirely on this kiss. She felt the soft, warm lips come into contact with her own. She used what was left of her strength to reach up and wrap her arms around his neck, wanting to pull him closer. The kiss was little more than his lips against her own, and yet she was certain it was the best feeling of the world. The butterflies in her stomach were very much alive, and her beating heart, though painful, reminded her that she was living and that Alvin kissing her was not yet another dream. She opened her blurry eyes, just enough to see the crescent moon floating above them. She still felt cold wearing Alvin's coat, but she knew it could have been much colder. She smiled a little in the kiss, which signaled for Alvin to stop. She pulled him closer to be able to speak to his ear. "This is exactly... how I envisioned it..."
Alvin gasped and hugged her much tighter. "Elize...!" The arms around his neck went limp.
"Hello!"
Alvin jumped and looked at Teepo, who was lying on the ground at a safe distance. He watched the toy curiously. "Teepo...?"
The toy remained where it was. "Hello! I like warm hugs!" Alvin looked at the toy for a moment, realizing that Elize was dead. It really was all over. He looked at the little girl in his arms, whose cheeks were already white. "No... No, Elize, this can't be right... Princess, you can't be dead..."
"Hello!"
Alvin slowly buried his face in his own hands.
"I like warm hugs! Hello!..."
Dear Milla,
I hope this letter finds you well.
I don't know how to gently say this in a letter, so I'll just come out and say it; a week ago, we held Elize's funeral. I wish you could have been here, you look like the type of person who knows how to deal with such situations. Also, I know you're curious about human habits, and I'm sure you would have been interested to see a typical funeral procession, even if it is a little different for children. It's always much more sad than when old people die. It's always unexpected.
Rowen spoke at the funeral. He said a long text about how death is not the saddest part and that what's hard is living without our loved one. He also said that we would be back with her sooner than we thought and that she would want us to keep living a full, happy life. He took it with a lot of calm, but I could tell he was sad to see a teenager die before him.
Leia wrote a piece on Elize's demise for the journal. I read it and it's pretty nice. She wrote that if tensions between Rieze Maxia and Elympios kept rising, a war would kill many more children besides Elize. I heard she was praised for her great sensibility, but her boss criticized the much too personal tone of the article. I don't think this is going to be her great breakthrough. I know that this isn't why she wrote the piece; I know it's her way to cope with the loss.
As for Alvin...
Well, things are much more complicated with him.
I haven't seen Alvin since the funeral, and he has not spoken a word since the night he begged me to save Elize. It still hurts where he punched me. I'm glad he didn't have his weapons with him, I think he could have killed me.
He didn't say anything at the funeral. He kept quiet when we carried the casket. I just saw him hide his face in his hands, and when he stopped it was to look at a bracelet. I guess it's something he took from Elize. However, when they started burying her, I saw tears in his eyes. I wanted to comfort him but it looked like he was going to punch me again, so I left him alone. I feel terrible because at the moment when he needed someone, I wasn't there. No one was there.
No one has seen Alvin since.
So Milla, if you ever see him, please tell him that I'm sorry.
I'm sorry I didn't try to save Elize.
With all my love,
Jude